The sacred and the profane, the Giro brings a bike race to one of the largest religious shrines in the Alps, Oropa and a climb that has been part of the race’s theatre in recent years even if it’s never been decisive.
Month: May 2017
Giro d’Italia Stage 13 Preview
A flat procession to Tortona, the town where Fausto Coppi died from malaria aged 40. Maybe not the most cheerful commemoration but there’s music along the way too.
Mapei and The Lost Glory Days
Today’s stage of the Giro doesn’t look like a thriller but ride the route and there are plenty of tales along the way, especially at the finish in Reggio Emilia where the city’s sports arena, the Mapei stadium, is a reminder of Italian cycling’s last glory days.
Giro d’Italia Stage 11 Preview
A hilly day in the Apennines with hardly a metre of flat road but it’s not mountainous like we’ll see in the Alps. Many riders will have ticked today for the breakaway.
Giro Stage 10 Preview
A time trial to reshape the overall classification. Tom Dumoulin can ride in the race lead and we’ll see how Nairo Quintana can limit the damage.
Giro Rest Day
The opening week of the Giro is done and time to look back in order to help look ahead. It’s been a lively week of racing, perhaps with some dull moments if you followed the stages live on TV for too long but otherwise the outcomes have been varied and thanks to the Blockhaus the race has been shaken up.
Giro d’Italia Stage 9 Preview
After several stages where the daily winner was the story now it’s time to return to the high mountains and shake-up the overall classification with the fearsome “Blockhaus” climb. This is a short stage, all the better to encourage action on the climb.
Giro d’Italia Stage 8 Preview
After a coastal procession the second half of the stage is much harder with its climbs, some categorised and some not, as well as twisting roads and all before a tricky uphill finish.
More is Less
There are hours and hours of the Giro d’Italia on TV and some of the upcoming stages will be shown live from start to finish, a novelty for 2017. The Tour de France will have every single stage live on TV from start to finish too. It’s great but is it too much?